


Harbingers

by Gandalfgirl579, TwistedK



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alchemy, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Magic, Mecha, Multi, Steampunk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-04-05 19:56:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4192896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gandalfgirl579/pseuds/Gandalfgirl579, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwistedK/pseuds/TwistedK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was chaos. All around them, the capital crumbled. Sparkling spires toppled, palm trees uprooted and crushed to splinters, the waterways running red with blood and rust, the desert oasis of Maria shattering into shimmering gold dust ruins.</p><p>The Titans had originally been meant for construction, but somehow they were different now, if these mechanical beasts were even Titans at all. They were alchemical mechs, powered by a mixture of magic and steam, the same as any other Titans, but they were fundamentally different. Someone had tampered with them. </p><p>Steampunk alchemical AU. Soldier Erwin x alchemist Levi. Eruri, though more pairings may come later.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was chaos.

All around them, the capital crumbled. Sparkling spires toppled, palm trees uprooted and crushed to splinters, the waterways running red with blood and rust, the desert oasis of Maria shattering into shimmering gold dust ruins.

"I don't think they have pilots!" 

Even among the cacophony of crashing and clanging and terrified screams, Hange's voice was loud. "Their reaction speed it too quick: People can't react that quickly!" Her eyes sparkled, chocolate diamonds catching the sun, brilliant even behind the thick bottle glass of her goggles. "I've never seen Titans without pilots before! It's incredible!"

"Now isn't really the time to be admiring--" 

"Oh, shush!" The glee in her voice was a bit unsettling, but that was nothing new. Hange herself was unsettling. Cackling madly, she barely managed to dodge a sandstone pillar as it fell between them. She bunny hopped over it, hugging his arm with an ecstatic smile. "C'mon, Erwin, you gotta admit, they're pretty incredible!"

"They aren't incredible." There was something dark in Erwin's voice, eyes roving restlessly, angrily. With all the soot and sand floating on the air, those eyes were bluer than the sky. "They're monstrous."

Monstrous they were: The Titans were originally meant for construction, but somehow they were different now, if these mechanical beasts were even Titans at all. They were alchemical mechs, powered by a mixture of magic and steam, the same as any other Titans, but they were fundamentally different. These had a slimmer build than common construction Titans, more aerodynamic, though they were weighed down with weaponry, bringing fire down upon people and buildings and the very sky above them. Absolutely monstrous.

Around them, the marble steps of the Defense Office were coated in a faintly yellow-green liquid, the sparks taking to it in an instant, flames leaping their way up the stairs to attack the building itself. Erwin was immensely grateful for the fact that the other soldiers had already been evacuated, their banquet interrupted due to an earthquake that was not an earthquake at all. 

"We need to stop them." Erwin's eyes were pale, a winter sky decorated with ice crystals. "We can't let this go on."

"What we need is to get to the Underground," Hange replied, and there was something like genuine fear on her face, eyes wide and panicked. There was a tremble in her voice. Even her fascination had a limit, and that limit seemed to be watching their place of work burn. "We can fight 'em later."

"If we let them get away--"

"We'll think of a plan." Her hand was suddenly at his bicep, squeezing, pleading. "Later. We'll be safe there until we can figure out what to do."

"It's illegal to go down there without a permit." The rumble of Erwin's voice was nearly drowned out in the collapse of the building, sandstone buckling and shattering like so much golden glass.

"Only if you go through the Gate."

And Erwin stopped in his tracks. "Hange--"

"C'mon!" Grabbing at the sleeve of his swanky parade uniform, Hange steered him as best she could through the crowd, away from the destruction. Their uniforms, once pristine, were a mess, chaotic, coated in the dust and sand whirlwinding about. All the red silk and golden thread, still visible beneath the layers of soot, had them sticking out like beacons in the bedlam surrounding them, though they were as helpless as anyone else. It was humiliating, really. Though Erwin was quickly retreating into his stony shell, Hange didn't even seem to notice, even going so far as to toss apologetic smiles to the people around them, though it did nothing to placate the civilians. The gazes they caught were equal parts pleading and angry and critical. Those eyes were judgmental, silently proclaiming, You're as weak as we are now. How does it feel?

"You know I'm an alchemist, Erwin," Hange said next, as if trying to distract him from the stares. "You've known for years."

He did. He hated it, but he did know it. Hange had always been an alchemist, even when she was a little girl, converting little toys from tin cans and balloons from rubber balls.

"I can get us around the Underground without a problem," she said, almost looking guilty. She was fully aware of the fact that Erwin disapproved of her use of the magical science. "There are supplies you can only get there. That I get there."

"These supplies…" He felt his stomach drop to his knees. "They're corpses, aren't they?" Accusation barely buried under the commotion.

For a long moment, Hange was silent, dragging Erwin along behind her, past droves of screaming people and billowing clouds of smoke, all the way to her home on the outskirts of the desert town. "Only ever corpses," was all she had to say.

That was of little comfort, and Erwin's brows drew together. "Human transmutation--"

"It isn't human transmutation, technically," Hange said as she undid the chain on the storm cellar door beside her quaint little cottage. It wasn't a storm cellar in truth. It was a laboratory; a perfect hiding place for her less-than-savory hobby. "Human transmutation involves living humans. To use corpses is mostly legal."

"Mostly." Erwin spat it like a curse.

"Y'know, this really isn't the best time to be having this conversation." Hange sounded almost amused as she threw open the storm doors, gesturing Erwin down the dusty stairs before her. "Once we're safe, I'll talk about it. I'll tell you everything."

"You're avoiding the issue," Erwin assessed her promise, though he headed down the steps nonetheless.

Hange's smile was infectious, shining in the cloudy dark: "For now."

In the cellar, the rumble of the Titans' steps were doubly loud, shaking sand down through the floorboards, hairline cracks splintering through the sandstone walls. "I'm not gonna light a lantern," Hange said, her voice disconnected and echoing in the dark. "You won't like what you see."

Erwin took her word for it.

Moving as quickly as she could, Hange secured the doors from the inside, a heavy padlock set in place before she followed Erwin down into the cellar itself. At his side in the sudden pitch-darkness, she touched his elbow, beckoning, "This way."

Carefully steering them through the darkness, Hange stopped at the far wall, the sound of stone scraping metal ringing softly before a pale, fragile light shone, and Hange said, strangely soft, "C'mon."

Following the sound of her voice, Erwin stepped from the shadow to the light, dim though it was.

Upon further inspection, it was not a true light at all, but a hazy blue phosphorescence. They were standing in a narrow tunnel, cut into the sandy stone of the desert floor, where all the machinery that powered the capital worked ceaselessly to provide the people with the luxuries they felt they needed the most.

"Where does this tunnel lead?" 

"It's the entrance to the Underground," Hange told him, pulling the hidden door closed behind them with a quiet screech, blocking out the sounds of the Titans' invasion. It was a welcome reprieve. "One of many, actually. From what I've heard, there're at least thirty entryways that don't use the Gate. You can probably get anywhere with the tunnels."

"No one's meant to be down here," Erwin pointed out. "Only the mechanics and the ones who can't afford life on the Surface. No one lives here willingly. Why is it they haven't closed the tunnels off?"

"Because the officers themselves use alchemy," Hange shrugged, "and they can't block the black market off. They'd never get anything done without the proper supplies!"

That just earned her a slight scowl, though it was quickly overtaken by a look of wonder.

From the entryway, the cave expanded, a massive pocket in the earth. All inside the damp walls were niches of all shapes and sizes, illuminated by blue cave-light and hollowed stalagmites and stalactites full of burning oils. Some of the nooks held the bits of ticking machinery that powered the golden city above, some were carved into homes, yet others held grocery stalls and little shops. Dusty windows shone dim and golden, some signs written in the Mother Tongue, others in strange symbols that Erwin could not read. Runes: They were alchemical shops. Steam rose all around, clouds built at the top of the cave, some so dense they seemed ready to burst and bring rain down upon the interior of the cave itself.

"This is incredible."

"Pretty much!" Hange's laughter bounced off the cave walls, a few bats stirring at the sound, though none were bothered enough to take flight. "We can get help here, I think. The best alchemists hide out down here, and--"

"Alchemy created those Titans," Erwin argued, quickly recovering from the awe of the Underground. "It's the cause of the problem, not the solution."

"You gotta fight fire with fire, though," Hange countered. Strangely enough, she didn't look the least bit smug. She was speaking a rare wisdom that hid out during the day, only making itself known in desperate or drunken times. "It's the only way to win in a situation like this. You don’t really think we can fight these things just with men, do you?"

To that, Erwin simply sighed. She was right. 

"C'mon." And then she had his sleeve again, pulling him across the worn path that acted as a street through the Underground, leading him to a shop with brightly lit windows, somehow free of smoke stains and fingerprints. It was miraculous. "I know the guy who runs this place."

As the wood-and-glass door opened, a little bag of air was compressed behind it, a shrill whistle emitting from a little copper tube near the ceiling. 

The interior of the shop was laid out with oddities of all kinds. Bowls full of pellets of varying metals and brightly colored powders sat on small tables in one corner. A multitude of shelves lined the walls, filled a bit beyond capacity with glass jars of herbs and blown bottles full of scurrying insects and ancient leathern books. In another corner was a metal bin of what appeared to be mummified animal parts, and Erwin felt something in his gut twist unpleasantly. 

He was a man of science, of logic. 

The magic that was alchemy set him on edge like nothing else.

"Knock, knock!" Hange seemed strangely at home here. Perhaps she really did know the owner of the establishment. "Anybody home?"

"The shop's open, isn't it?"  
The voice had come from behind a counter near the back of the room, and its owner stood from behind it, a sulky glare on his face. There was a blown glass jar in his hands, filled with a thick platinum-colored liquid. It almost looked like molten metal, but if that was so, wouldn't the glass have melted? Perhaps it was mercury.  
"It's Hans, isn't it?" he asked.

"Hange, actually."

He didn't seem to care one way or the other, and instead of offering any acknowledgment of her name, he asked, "What do you need?"

"What you're holding, maybe." Hange had been completely sidetracked by whatever the little shopkeeper had in his hands, and she chirped out, "Is that alkahest?"

"You couldn't afford it," was all the response the shopkeeper offered. His eyes were the color of daggers, silver and brutally sharp. They were the same color as the molten substance in the jar in his hands. Again, more harshly, he asked, "What do you need?"

"Help." Erwin finally spoke. "The Surface is in chaos."

"The Surface is always in chaos." His voice was frigid, the sound of ice and glass shattering together. "That's why I live in the Underground."

"There are Titans running amok," Erwin said next, assuming the tone he used primarily on his underlings. 

"Titans are builders," the shopkeeper deadpanned. "Not destroyers."

"These one are destructive," Erwin said, increasingly frustrated. "The entire city is being leveled. Can't you feel the ground shaking?"

"We get earthquakes pretty frequently down here," the shopkeeper said with a dismissive shrug of narrow shoulders. Despite his harshness, there was something very nearly delicate about him. In an odd way, he was striking, a fierce, tiny subterranean creature. "You learn to ignore it."

"You can't just--"

"You're the only one who can help us," Hange finally said, and the desperation in her voice stuck Erwin's words in his throat. "Levi, please. We need your help if we're gonna stop them."

"And just what is it you expect me to do to help?" The shopkeeper-- Levi, apparently --asked.

"We could build our own Titans to fight these ones," Hange said. "I know you can do it. You can transmute anything. And I'm a decent pilot, and you're the best there is, and Erwin is the best leader I know, so--"

"We can build an army of our own." Something akin to hopeful disbelief lingered in Erwin's voice, his eyes wide. 

For a moment, Levi stared. He'd never seen eyes so blue. Was that the color of the sky? It had been so long since he'd seen it... 

"If we can gather enough people," Erwin said. "We can fight these Titans and take our city back."

At long last, just the slightest bit interested, Levi crossed from behind the counter, standing before Erwin and Hange with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring up at them and wholeheartedly declaring, "You two're fuckin' nuts."

Though Erwin said nothing, Hange let loose a great chuckle, and Levi stepped toward her, pulling a handkerchief from the pocket of his vest and pressing it a bit roughly to a shallow gash across her forehead. 

"Hold it there," he said. 

At his side, Erwin was still silent, stiff, suspicious.

"You don't trust alchemists," Levi said, his eyes cutting deep, slicing away layers of gauze and secrets. "But you hang around with her." He gestured at Hange, who gave a dopey, too wide grin. "What's with that?"

"I've known Hange since we were children," Erwin replied, his face stony, eyes cold. "She's an exception."

Those eyes followed Levi's movements closely as he returned to the counter, grabbing the bottle of silver liquid he'd left there. Hange's chocolate-colored eyes followed, too, though they were far less sharp. She wasn't suspicious at all; just curious.

Carefully, Levi poured a large drop of thick liquid into his right palm, and for a moment, Erwin caught a glimpse of something drawn onto his skin. Recapping the bottle and setting it aside, the shopkeeper returned to Hange, ordering, "Show me the cut."

She did, wincing a bit when the cotton stuck in the wound.

Held out before his chest, Levi's hand formed a tight fist around the alkahest, his hand quivering as the liquid set to glowing. Careful not to spill, he pressed his hand to Hange's forehead, right against the wound, and she hissed, though she kept her eyes open, watching.

Beside her, Erwin tensed, his worries confirmed. This man was another alchemist. Wonderful. Hange was more than enough magic for him, and to have to work with another alchemist... It took all he had to hold in a sigh of frustration.

When the two finally parted, Hange chirped out a chipper, "Nice trick!" The cut was gone, leaving not so much as a scar, and to Erwin, she said, "See? I told you alchemy can be used for good! Levi can help--"

"I never said I was gonna help you."  
Levi's brows were drawn into a tight scowl, his hand balled up against his chest, still shaking. He couldn't keep his eyes off Erwin's, off that color, that beautiful blue. He wasn't sure if he was being honest. That color alone was probably enough to convince him to help, as insane as that was. It was downright bizarre, and he felt his guard rising. He didn't feel such things-- He didn't feel at all. "I just didn't wanna get blood all over my shop."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I only let you stay one night and you've already made a mess of the place."
> 
> It wasn't a mess at all.
> 
> Steampunk alchemical AU. Soldier Erwin x alchemist Levi. Eruri, though more pairings may come later. PG-13 rating for now for violence and language, though it's likely to be bumped up to R before too long...

"I only let you stay one night and you've already made a mess of the place."

It wasn't a mess at all.

"The shelves need dusting, the floor could use a good mopping, there's slime building up on the ceiling, and the metal pellets need sorting. Ignorant customers mixing everything up..." Levi's voice trailed off as his eyes roved the little shop, pointedly avoiding Erwin and Hange. 

Especially Erwin. He didn't trust him, it seemed. Erwin didn't blame him. 

"You wanna keep up this crazy fight the titans shit, you do it in the office." He swept a stack of Hange's titan designs into a neat stack, setting them in a flat basket at the edge of the counter for later study. "I don't want the customers seeing it."

"Understood." Hange's seriousness was clearly an act, and she barely fought back a snicker when she offered him a salute.

"Keep this place clean," Levi said next, completely unperturbed, "and you can stay here for a while."

"We don't need a place to stay." Erwin's voice was gruff, bouncing off the shop's stone walls, though Levi didn't respond to it at all. "We need your help."

"Guess it's okay for me to kick you out, then?" He had no qualms about doing it, that much was obvious. Whether he had any real desire to do sowas a mystery.

For some reason, that only served to make Erwin tense further. "You know--"

"That the Surface has no value to me," Levi said, and Erwin found himself narrowing his eyes at the utter lack of emotion in his voice. "It can burn, for all I care."

"And bring the survivors Underground," Hange pointed out, looking smug when Levi gave the slightest wince in response. "Think of all the new people running around down here! Families with incontinent grandparents and irreverent little children!" Her smile was a wicked thing, the lantern light playing along the lenses of her goggles. She looked half-mad. "Kids and old people with smudgy fingers, touching everything they see..."

For a long moment, Levi was silent, gnawing at his lower lip, dark eyes downcast. 

There was something oddly innocent in that gesture, though Hange was not at all bothered by it, simply adding, "And you know a buncha those kids're gonna want alchemy lessons from a master like you!"

 

"She's right, you know," Erwin added for good measure.

That seemed to do the trick and, at long last, Levi sighed, growling out, "Fine." His hostility was clear, his eyes chips of flaming onyx, ablaze. "You're still cleaning for me." He eyed Erwin for a moment, accusing. "I expect the job to be done right."

Hange had merely smiled at Erwin for that, and Levi rolled his eyes at them, stalking off to the storeroom behind the counter.

When he heard Hange laugh, he barked out a harsh, "Spotless!"

Spotless was not a difficult thing to achieve. Levi kept his shop impeccably clean, and in what felt like just a few minutes, it was perfect again. 

The sorting of the metal pellets that he'd requested, however, took a bit longer.

A few minutes into their task, Levi stepped out from the storeroom, carrying a large glass jar filled with flesh-eating beetles and asked, "How's it going?"

"Not bad!" Hange's enthusiasm brought a little smile fluttering across Erwin's face, though Levi was somehow impervious to it. "You need something?"

"Wondering if you two happened to bring any money or supplies with you." Clearly disgusted with its contents, Levi placed the jar of beetles onto a high shelf, out of sight."Things are tight down here, and if you didn't, we're in deep shit."

Turning her pockets out, Hange cheerfully announced, "I have three coppers!"

When Erwin did the same, he said, "Ten silvers, seven coppers. Not very much at all."

"That's not gonna work."

"I think you're right." Erwin was reluctant to say so, rolling a tiny ball of lead between his thumb and forefinger for a moment before plinking it into a shallow dish filled with its like. "But I think the attack is over for now. We can leave." His eyes darted up, meeting with Levi's for an instant, sharp and cold. "We can do this on our own, given you're so reluctant to help us."

"I said I'd help you," Levi snapped, his brow furrowing. He almost looked offended, hands on his narrow hips, one cocked slightly to the side. Though it was a strangely feminine pose, it was also strangely alluring. Erwin did his best not to let it distract him. "You get what you need, and then you get back here."

Hange grinned. "Yes, sir!"

This time, Erwin was impervious to her enthusiasm, too. 

Though it annoyed Levi to no end, they didn't finish their sorting job before they left. Erwin was secretly pleased with that, following Hange out of the shop and into the belly of the cave.

Once they were finally out of the little alchemist's earshot, she asked in a conspirator's whisper, "Have you noticed the way he looks at you?"

There was something like excitement in Hange's voice, something sparkling in her eyes, something brightening her cheeks to rosy splendor. Lifting one eyebrow, Erwin asked, "The way he looks at me?"

Hange gave an emphatic nod. "Like you're something special."

"He looks at me like I'm trash, Hange." It came out on a chuckle. Just the same, Erwin found himself stealing a glance over his shoulder, to the front of the shop, where the little alchemist was watching them with silvery hawk-eyes. "He looks at you the same way."

"No, he likes you." Hange rarely sounded so earnest. "I've seen him around hundreds of people, and there's definitely something special in the way he looks at you. I think that's why he agreed to help us, actually."

"Because he has a crush on me?" Another chuckle. "That's absurd." 

"Keep telling yourself that, E." Now Hange was the one laughing, echoing as they entered the tunnel leading into her lab. "It's not gonna change things."

The tunnel seemed smaller when they went through it this time, keenly aware of Levi's eyes still on their backs as they left, the walls shrinking down around them. When the hidden door in Hange's lab was pushed open, it did so with surprising ease, and Hange crowed out a triumphant, "Haha, yes!"

"Don't celebrate just yet." Erwin's voice echoed against the basement's sandstone walls, heavy in the humid darkness. Even down here, the desert heat was oppressive. "Just because the basement is still here--"

"Then come on!" 

He could feel her hand grip the gold hem of his sleeve, dragging him up the stairs and hurriedly undoing the lock. It took quite an effort from the both of them to push the doors open, a wave of sand leaping down to meet them. Erwin casually brushed a scorpion off his shoulder.

"C'mon, this way!" The humor seemed to have gone from Hange's voice as she led him around the side of the cottage, eyeing its adobe walls all the while. It seemed to be mostly intact, though it was far dustier than usual, and the cacti in the flowerbeds out front didn't seem to be doing too well. "This is why I live on the outskirts," she told Erwin, not meeting his eyes. "You're safer out here than in the heart of the city."

In light of the recent attack, he no longer saw fit to argue with that statement. "Fair enough," he agrees. 

The interior of the house was in a state of utter disrepair, things tossed about and shattered on the floor, potted plants uprooted and papers strewn over the too-many tables occupying the house. Erwin had a creeping suspicion that this was simply how Hange lived.

"Looks like an earthquake hit." Her voice was strangely even. "Or looters." That calmness didn't suit her, and it occurred to Erwin in a sick wave that she was upset. It had been years, nearly a decade, since he had last seen her upset. She was the sort to wave off turmoil and trouble, but here she was, shoulder tense, breath shallow. Watching the fear and anger darken her eyes, he found he couldn't bear it. Not on her. 

"Come on."

Nodding, Hange allowed Erwin to take her arm, leading her through the dusty foyer and into the living room of the space. 

She left him in an instant to kneel at the fire pit that was the highlight of the room, carved a good foot into the sandy floor, another foot of dusty brick surrounding it, like the lip of a well, and then another out around it, meshing it into the floor itself. Tugging a loose stone from the brick meshed into the floor, Hange pulled a small metal box from a hole in the ground. Creaking it open, she sighed in relief.

"Hange?"

"It's my medals." She tossed a smile up at him, wide and watery. "The medals I won for my alchemy. They're my most precious possessions. As long as these are safe…" She trailed off, sighing happily again.

Though the house was still a mess, Hange seemed more at ease now, grabbing a burlap sack from behind the well-worn sofa and heading to the next room, which happened to be her bedroom. Erwin could hear her bustling about, and he occupied himself by running his fingers along the dust-coated spines of the books on a massive shelf that took up the entire western wall. The majority of them seemed to be about alchemy, some of them marked only with runes. 

The one he happened to pull out seemed to be a step-by-step guide to the creation of homunculi, and Erwin sighed in a mixture of disgust and disappointment. The creation of homunculi wasn't forbidden, but the process of making them was a grisly business, and very few of the people who attempted it seemed to survive. Even less homunculi lived through the process.

"You prob'ly don't wanna read that," Hange said when she reentered the room, the rucksack slung over her shoulder. She'd exchanged her parade uniform for a far less flashy lace-up blouse and trousers. "It'd prob'ly give you nightmares."

Her attempt at humor only made Erwin feel worse, and he slid the book back into its place, turning to her and asking, "Would you really be willing to do the things in these books?"

"Some of it, yeah." 

Erwin fought back a shiver at her answer. This was his best friend, yet there seemed to be so much he didn't know about her... 

"I wouldn't use live people, I don't think." She was uncertain. "It's too risky."

"Too risky for you." Erwin did nothing to hide his revulsion. "It doesn't matter that these are human lives you'd be sacrificing?"

"Trading," Hange said, ardent, "not sacrificing."

Erwin gave a frustrated sigh, reiterating, "It doesn't matter that these are human lives you'd be trading?"

"It matters, I guess," Hange replied, shifting her bag restlessly from one shoulder to the other. Her alchemy medals were pinned to it, shining bright gold against the dingy material. "But there are some people who'd deserve it, y'know?"

"No one deserves to become a monster."

To that, Hange pursed her lips and simply said, "People become monsters all on their own."

Those words stuck in Erwin's mind as they left the house, and as Hange needlessly locked the door, and as they trudged through the damaged suburbs, and even as they approached the ruins of the city.

He only managed to free himself from those words when he saw that Maria, their capital, their golden, shining oasis, had been reduced to rubble. 

The capital building itself had collapsed into a mess of toppled stones, the Defense Office a charred ruin, the surrounding buildings razed and burned to the ground, palm trees uprooted, human lives shattered into shimmering glass fragments, puzzle pieces that would never again fit together. It was a monstrous sight.

Erwin felt his eyes begin to sting at the sight of it. It was the smoke still hanging on the air, he was sure.

"Where is everyone?" Hange's voice was far too loud, the only sound aside from the wind and the waterways and occasional wails of frightened children. 

"Still hiding, I'd wager." It hurt to see the city this way, and Erwin took hold of Hange's arm again, leading her in the direction of the residential complex he had shared with a few neighbors. He hoped that, at the very least, the neighbors themselves were able to seek safe shelter during the attack.   
"How could they do this?" he wondered aloud.

"Without much effort," Hange said with a shrug, the medals on her bag jingling merrily, a strange counterpoint to their gravelly footfalls. "They're machines; It's not like they feel."

"They were being controlled by someone," Erwin argues. "They were modified to destroy. Is that a difficult thing to do?"

"To turn construction titans into destroyers?" For a moment, Hange was silent. The world was silent. "Not really. I'm working on it myself. Levi's been helping me, actually."

"All I've seen him do is glower at the designs," Erwin said, and his voice was not without humor. It felt disrespectful, almost, but he found he could do nothing to hold it back.

"He thinks he's being sneaky." Hange was smiling. "He's making notes, pointing out mistakes." Her smile widened, even as they turned a corner into the now desolate backstreet of Erwin's apartment complex. "But his imitation of my handwriting isn't as good as he thinks it is." She glanced around then, her smile fading. "It's not far, is it?"

The building indeed lay not too far from the entrance to the alleyway, though they did not find it as they had left it.

It was no longer a building at all, but a burnt-out shell, wrought iron bed frames and lead pipes and copper wall studs all that remained, charred and stained with smoke, still burning in a few places.

"Erwin..." Hange's voice was softer than he'd ever heard it. 

"It's all right." Strangely enough, it was all right. Books, clothes, baubles... All these things were easily replaceable. He'd gotten away, Hange had gotten away... He was alive and he was not alone, and that was all that mattered. Besides, Erwin had never been a man to be caught off guard, and he waded through the ashen mess of the living room, stepping in the framework of what had once been his closet. Sifting through soot, he lifted a large metal box, nearly the size of a suitcase, glancing at Hange as he lifted it. Then, he smiled.

"You had an emergency kit ready, didn't you?" Her smiled matched his, equal parts exhausted and relieved and invigorated.

"I told you my paranoia would come in handy one day." Back at her side, he huffed out a sigh, clear blue eyes roving. Even now, a full day after the disaster, still darkened with worry, they were brighter than the sky. "It's a shame, though. This was a beautiful city."

"We'll fix it."

Another sigh: "It's going to take a lot of work, you know."

"We won't be doing it alone, I promise." Hange's smile was a truthful thing, bright and honest and so, so hopeful. "We will fix this, Erwin."

For one bright, hopeful instant, Erwin almost believed her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh, you're our first customer today!"
> 
> Hange seemed more than a little pleased to finally have some company, beaming so brightly it lit up the dim little room.
> 
> The little blonde that had wondered in, though, seemed more than a little displeased at seeing her. His pretty blue eyes traveled for a moment, assessing. In one smooth stare, he took in messy brown hair and sun-kissed skin and too-wide, too-excited eyes, though it did nothing to help determine whether this odd, frenzied, loud woman was a friend or a foe. 
> 
> Steampunk alchemical AU. Soldier Erwin x alchemist Levi. Eruri, though more pairings may come later. PG-13 rating for now for violence and language, though it's likely to be bumped up to R before too long...

"Oh, you're our first customer today!"

 

The shop had been open less than twenty minutes, and Hange seemed more than a little pleased to finally have some company, beaming so brightly it lit up the dim little room.

 

The little blonde that had wondered in, though, seemed more than a little _displeased_ at seeing her. His pretty blue eyes traveled for a moment, assessing. In one smooth stare, he took in messy brown hair and sun-kissed skin and too-wide, too-excited eyes, though it did nothing to help determine whether this odd, frenzied, _loud_ woman was a friend or a foe. "Who are you?" There was something icy in his voice, something unnatural in its smoothness.

 

Hange, of course, paid it no mind. Instead, she introduced herself. "I'm Hange! I'll be tending to the shop until Levi gest back. He's on a supply run for the moment." Behind her goggles, her eyes shone in curiosity. She tipped her head to the side, asking, "What can I get you?"

 

"It doesn't matter." There was something like forced confidence in the boy's voice, and he wrapped his arms around himself, eyes darting nervously about. "Do you know when Levi will be back?"

 

Hange seemed to roll that question around in her mind for a moment, setting the broom she'd been using against the wall. "Dunno, sorry," she said with a shrug, working now at the jars lining the shelf at her side, turning the labels out. "He and Erwin went out to get a few supplies from the other--"

 

" _Erwin_?" The boy's brow furrowed at that, eyes sharp like ice.

 

"My friend." Hange moved closer, keenly aware of the way he took one step back for each one she took closer. "Skittish li'l thing, aren'tcha?" She sounded almost amused, a little grin turning up the edges of her lips.

 

"Always better to err on the side of caution," was all the boy had to say.

 

"Makes life kinda boring, though, wouldn't you say?"  When he said nothing, Hange shrugged and asked, "Are you Levi's friend, then?"

 

"More or less."

 

"They've been gone an hour or so," Hange said next, rearranging the thick leather-bound books on the shelf above the last one, intentionally putting them out of order. Alphabetization annoyed her. Alphabetical order was too… _Orderly_. "I don't think they'll be gone too much longer, if you wanna wait on 'em..."

 

The boy was silent for a moment, gnawing at the small corner his lower lip. Judging by the chapped state of it, it was a nervous habit, and he seemed to be nervous more often than not. It was a stark contrast to his sure tone, as if he knew at his young age his place in the world. "I think that's for the best," he eventually agreed.

 

"Great!" When he flinched, Hange gave him a sheepish smile.  "Sorry," she said, careful to lower her voice. "Just excited. Haven't seen anyone since E and Levi left, and I am _super_ bored." She shrugged her shoulders again, her grin going wide. "I'll try to tone it down."

 

Hange's smile faded, though, when her words seemed to have no effect.

 

The kid's big blue eyes were unmoving, pinned on Hange with an air of judgment and suspicion as he made his way to the counter at the back of the store in sure steps.

 

There was something calculating in that gaze, bright and piercing and far too alert. Those eyes knew too much, that much was clear. Though he was child, there was something distinctly _unchildlike_ about him.

 

It wasn't until he caught sight of the sketches Hange had left on the counter that those brilliant eyes finally shifted away, and she did her best to keep her sigh of relief contained.

 

"Titan designs...? He seemed to be speaking to himself more than to Hange.

 

"Those're mine." The pride in her voice was undeniable, her discomfort forgotten as the smile returned to her face. "Pretty nifty, huh?"

 

"They're too blocky. Not aerodynamic at all." The boy's eyes drifted across the paper, following Hange's pen strokes with a strange sort of precision that seemed unfitting for someone of his age. "And those particular circles are not the best for use on Titans."

 

"Oh?" The challenge brought another smile skittering across Hange's face, and when she moved to stand at the counter, too, the boy crossed around to the other side. She was neither surprised nor offended. Leaning down onto her elbows for a closer look at her work, she asked, "What type of circles would _you_ use?"

 

"A single-rune circle isn't a strong enough conductor to work for something as large as a Titan. There's not enough magic running through it. It'd only be able to power _maybe_ the right leg." The boy's eyes never left the paper as he spoke, and he pulled the quill from the ink well beside them. In a blank space at the corner of one design, he laid out a circle of his own: A circle within another of its like, a seven-pointed star within that, the border between the circles filled in with a repeating pattern of three runes. "The single-rune circles are weak, really," he eventually concluded, returning the quill to its proper place, not a single drop of ink spilled. "Only novices use them."

 

"You saying I'm a novice?" Hange seemed amused by that notion.

 

He flicked that icy gaze to Hange then back to the paper, with a muttered, "If the shoe fits," that rang through loud and clear.

 

Hange, of course, was less than insulted, smiling slyly and asking, "And you're not?"

 

The boy, though, straightened at the accusation, proud and angry. "No, I'm not."

 

"Is that right?" Hange had one brow lifted now, smug and curious.

 

"It is, yes." He still had a hard time looking at her.

 

"Who did you say you were, kiddo?" Hange asked next, too-bright eyes meeting his, though he was quick to look away, folding under the pressure of that penetrating stare. "I didn't catch your name."

 

"I didn't give it."

 

"Yeah, I can definitely see you getting along with Levi," Hange concluded, though she was not entirely mirthless. "It was surprising, to think he had friends, but--" She shrugged her shoulders, taking the broom in hand again, careful not to sweep any of the dust onto the strange boy's shoes. If he was anything like Levi… "We've had customers in and out like mad the last few days, and Erwin's the only one he seems to like..."

 

"He _likes_ him?"

 

"He's like a puppy, yeah." Hange lifted the welcome mat near the shop's front door with her foot, carefully sweeping the meager amount of dust she'd gathered beneath it to join the collection she'd already amassed. "It's adorable!"

 

For a moment longer, the boy was quiet, eyes idly tracing the patterns in the marbled stone of the counter. His hands were balled into fists at the ledge of it, clenching and unclenching, though there was no anger in him. There was slight shift in his demeanor; a softer and more curious one. " _He can't_."

 

"Why not?" The Cheshire grin that spread over Hange's face only served to make the little blonde visibly uncomfortable, and he seemed to have caught himself. He straightened his spine when Hange approached him, that cautious gaze back with more vigilance. "Are you jealous?"

 

He took another step back when she took another closer, his back pressed to the far wall, near the office entryway.

 

"Blue-eyed blondes _do_ seem to be his type..."

 

"It's not like that." There was nothing defensive in his voice, as odd as that was. The boy sounded downright befuddled. "He's just…" He wet his lips. "He's not really _capable_ of such things."

 

" _Not capable_?" Hange shook her head, her messy ponytail swishing behind her with a sound akin to the rustling of hay. "That's a li'l harsh. He's pretty _emotionally constipated_ , yeah, but I wouldn't really say he's _not capable_ of it."

 

"That's because you don't know him." The stranger averted his gaze and Hange assessed how small he truly was at their close distance. A child, she was sure. He was only a child with a very curious façade that he seemed to have a hard time putting up. Interesting.

 

Rising to his challenge, she asked, "And _you_ do?"

 

The boy seemed to know he was being baited, and he fell silent.

 

It was not him who broke the silence.

 

"We're back." Levi didn't seem particularly happy to be back, though that hardly came as a surprise. In his hands was a new broom, the handle polished wood, the bristles shimmering wheat. It was a thing of beauty.

 

Behind him, Erwin shuffled in, arms laden with all manner of books and baubles. He was grumbling to himself, trying desperately to keep from toppling over in one direction or the other. He seemed grateful, at the very least, when Levi held the door open for him.

 

"Oh, your manners are improving!" Hange sounded impressed.

 

At that, Levi let the door slam closed, and Hange let out a nasally chuckle.

 

Erwin was far less amused, tossing a pretty sapphire glare at Levi, though he was ignored when the smaller man was caught by another pair of equally sapphiric eyes. His own eyes widened just the slightest bit, and he breathed out a soft, disbelieving, "Armin."

 

The boy nodded curtly, replying, "Levi."

 

Shoving past Erwin, Levi grasped at the boy's collar, pulling him close and asking, "What are you doing here?"

 

Hange observed the boy’s façade completely change from the former assured stranger to a softer, somewhat more desperate child. She barely heard him say, "You're the only family I have left. Where else was I supposed to go?"

 

A shivering breath passed Levi's lips then, and he used the grip he had on Armin's collar to drag him back into the shop's office.

 

Erwin shot Hange a questioning look, and she only responded with a shrug, jolting a bit when the door to the office slammed closed with a bit more force than was really necessary.

 

On the other side of the door, Levi was glaring, running one hand through his hair and demanding once more, " _What are you doing here, Armin_?"

 

"I didn't know where else to go, Levi." There was open desperation in his eyes before he cast them down, focusing instead on his fidgeting fingers. "I'm sorry."

 

"What about Historia?" Levi had never particularly cared for Historia, but Armin had always been a kind person, easily convinced to do what he was told was the right thing to do. He's a smart kid, yes, but too easily swayed by guilt and far too gullible. "She's in _a wheelchair_ , Armin, you can't just leave her alone."

 

To that, Armin shook his head. "I can't let her know I was the one to do this."

 

"And what is _this_?" Levi cocked a thin brow, bracing himself for Armin’s answer.

 

"I think you know." A flush crept over the planes of his face, eyes averted away even more, shoulders curled in a way that made him look almost as short as Levi. It was a clever defense mechanism, though it did nothing but serve to make Levi glare harder. "She'd be so disappointed in me..."

 

"And Abraham?" The words came on a sneer. "You think _he'd_ be okay with it?"

 

That answer came even more hesitantly: "We lost him a few weeks ago."

 

Levi did his best to ignore the strange feeling of weight on his chest, instead asking, "How?"

 

"I don't know." The guilt in Armin's eyes, on his face, could be seen from a mile away.

The weight on his chest, a nagging one, dragged along Levi's insides as tears pooled at the corners of Armin's lashes, diamonds clinging to golden thread. The beauty of it only served to make the leaden weight that much heavier.

 

"I was away at the time."

 

Excuses, excused. Irritated, Levi snapped out a sharp, "You were away creating the monsters that destroyed the Surface, weren't you?"

 

This time, there was no hesitation at all even though his voice was getting smaller and smaller: "Yes."

 

"You know how he'd have felt about this."

 

A tiny nod sends a single diamond sliding down Armin's cheek, shining against the peachy silk of his skin. "I do."

 

Something in Levi softened at that, and he sighed out a soft, "I'm sorry you lost him."

 

" _We_ lost him." The boy's voice was close to breaking. "You were his family, too, Levi."

 

"Then I'm sorry _we_ lost him."

 

For a long moment, Armin simply stared down at him, clear-water eyes scanning for emotion of any sort, shaking his head when he came away with nothing. "You don't look sorry."

 

"Well, I am." He was, really. There was a sort of heaviness, a weariness in his bones, an ache that went heart-deep, each beat sending the pain rushing through his veins anew. "I didn't even get the chance to tell him goodbye."

 

Another long moment passed before Armin said, very softly, "He'd have been proud of you, Levi."

 

"Proud..." It was clear from the crinkle in his brow that Levi didn't truly understand the concept of pride. It was spoken of, yes, and he knew that it was something he had encountered before-- Both himself and Armin had both been called arrogant more times than they would care to count --but to have someone else take pride in his doings... "I think he would have approved, at least," he eventually agreed. It was a half-hearted agreement. The pain in his chest was of far more importance, heavy and unignorable.

 

"Definitely, yeah." Armin's lovely smile withered as quickly as it had bloomed. "Can I tell you something, Levi? Will you promise not to be angry with me?"

 

"No."

 

After a careful bite to his raw lower lip, Armin repeated, " _No_?"

 

"You can tell me," Levi said, "but I won't promise to not get angry. Angry is the only emotion I'm any good at."

 

There was another long pause, Armin's eyes finding Levi's and holding on tight, blue on silver. "I thought I could control them," was all he said.

 

It was more than enough.

 

"I thought I could control them, Levi," the boy was saying and saying again, his arms wrapped around himself. Levi knew his body language well enough to know that he was attempting to hold himself together. It rarely did any good. "I thought I could control them. I thought by now that I had the power to control them."

 

"You're _a child_ , Armin." That level of scorn was a bit much, but Levi did nothing to take it back. "A _child_ couldn't possibly control those things, talented or not."

 

Armin ignored him, muttering out, "I thought that we'd finally be able to get back at the government for what they did to our family." He was already falling apart. "I thought--"

 

"You thought wrong."

 

Though Armin winced, he did not argue with Levi's assessment.

 

"I know you're talented, Armin, but you're still just a novice." Those words held no judgment. "You're too smart to have really believed you could control those things."

 

There was something in the proud lift of Armin's chin, though, that said that he didn't believe that, either.

 

Levi ignored it, saying, "Erwin and Hange are building Titans of their own to fight back the monsters _you_ made." Their eyes met, silver on sapphire. "And you are going to help them, whether you want to or not."

 

"Do you really believe we can trust them?"

 

"Not really." Levi's eyes roved for a minute. "Can't say I really trust _you_ , either."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who didn't realize it, Abraham is Armin's grandfather. He isn't given a name is canon, but Abraham is just such a noble name and it feels fitting to me...
> 
> And we're getting a little into the story now! Armin is a big player in the grand scheme of things, I'm pleased to say. This is one of my first times writing him, despite the fact that he's a favorite of mine. I wanted to get more in touch with the slightly off-kilter strategist side we see in the manga than the sweetie-pie we see all too often. What do you guys think?? 
> 
> Excited for the next chapter? Have constructive criticism or even just silly comments to add? Let me know! And as always, I must mention that I go by SandCastleVirtues on Tumblr, and I'm totally open to taking questions and comments there! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The thud-thud sound was coming from the Surface, rumbling down through the earth itself, settling deep beneath the Underground. Its deep waves echoed in the cavern and the walls shook at every resounding thud. Levi could see the dust crumbling from the Underground ceiling, no doubt leaving trails of tiny debris in the front of his shop. Then the rumbling started again, louder and they could all feel the small tremors and aftershocks of it. The adults outside ushered their children indoors—a couple of them making their way into Levi’s shop—while some cowered in time with the uneven quake of the earth.
> 
> It was terrifyingly, undeniably footsteps.
> 
> Steampunk alchemical AU. Soldier Erwin x alchemist Levi. Eruri, though more pairings may come later. PG-13 rating for now for violence and language, though it's likely to be bumped up to R before too long...

"Like this?"

 

"No, like _this_." Armin tossed a glance up at Hange, pulling away a bit. She had no regard for personal space, and as uncomfortable as it made him, there was something endearing about it. She wasn't doing it to make him nervous, at the very least. It was just how she was. " _Large_ isn't a strong enough rune," he said. "Use _enormous_."

 

"Ooh, how about _giant_?" Armin's eyebrows lifted at that, impressed, though he said nothing. "It has more than one meaning; Doesn't that mean it'll be more powerful?"

 

"It does, yeah."

 

"Great!" Hange's head bobbed eagerly at that, her ponytail swishing behind her. Her original designs had been drawn over a million times, and she cringed when the tip of the quill's nib bit through the thinned paper, praying that Levi hadn't heard the telltale _tear_.

 

Of course he had, hissing out, "You get ink on that countertop, and--"

 

"I'll clean it up, I promise!"

 

"With the level of _dedication_ you used to sweep the floor?" The words came on a sneer, and Hange gave a nervous chuckle in response.

 

"I think he found your collection of dust bunnies." Erwin's eyes were cast over his shoulder at the moment, a warm smile on his face. "I told you to hide them better, didn't I?"

 

Though Hange scowled, Armin gave a soft titter.

 

"It isn't funny, Armin." Levi's glare was a fearsome thing, but the little blonde was entirely unaffected, even smiling a bit as Levi stared him down, though that only served to sharpen than already lethal glare. "Have you ever seen a dust bunny? They're disgusting."

 

"I think they're sorta cute."

 

The honesty in that statement sent a dazzling smile across Hange's face, and she tossed her arm around Armin's narrow shoulders, nuzzling flax-golden hair, paying not the slightest bit of attention to the way he tensed at her touch. "He's on my side!"

 

For a long moment, Levi was silent. Then he simply shook his head and set to realphabetizing the books Hange had so carefully put out of order, muttering something along the lines of, "Filthy slobs," under his breath.

 

"Hange really isn't the cleaning sort," Erwin eventually said, softly enough that only Levi could hear him. They were standing mere inches apart, Erwin working on the shelf above the bookshelf, his chest so close to Levi's back that they were nearly touching. For some reason he couldn't place, something was telling him to move closer. He pushed the thought aside in favor of the chore the shopkeeper had given him. "She's more the--"

 

"Putting books out of order sort, yeah." Levi pulled a mint copy of _Alchemy Made Easy_ from between a tattered _The Predictions of Nostradamus_ and an even more worn _The Tome of the Unknown_ , shelving them in the proper order without so much as an upward glance at Erwin. "I kinda noticed."

 

Erwin's only response was a slightly apologetic smile.

 

After another lapse of silence, Levi finally glanced up, meeting too-blue eyes with frosty silver and asking, "How is someone like you friends with someone like her, anyhow? You don't really seem..." He shrugged, looking a bit lost. " _Compatible_ , I guess."

 

At that, Erwin's smiling eyes drifted over to Hange, watching her chatter at Armin like an excited child-- _At_ him, not _with_ him. As friendly and outgoing as she was, Hange's social skills left much to be desired. "We grew up together. She was the first friend I ever made."

 

"How old were you?"

 

It was odd to see Levi so interested, and Erwin's full lips pursed until he eventually decided, "I believe I was eight."

 

"You made your first friend when you were _eight_?" Levi seemed almost taken aback. The book in his hand was hovering inches from the shelf, caught in mid-air, his head tipped back against Erwin's chest, willing those brilliant eyes to find him again. " _You?_ "

 

"Why does that surprise you so much?" The question came alongside a warm chuckle, and finally, _finally_ his eyes found the other man's.

 

Yet another stretch of quiet came before Levi admitted, very softly, "You're charming. No way you didn't have friends growing up."

 

" _Charming_?" There was nothing Erwin could do to keep the flush from his face, and he cleared his throat, glancing away to the shelf he was working on, carefully turning a series of colored glass bottles label-side-out. "I was the sort of child who perpetually had his nose stuck in a book."

 

"Doesn't surprise me." Levi tucked the alchemical book against his chest, breathing deep the scent of its centuries-old leather bindings, doing his best to ignore the aroma pine and coffee and musk that was rapidly overtaking his senses. "You're the kind to read history books for the hell of it, aren'cha?"

 

"On occasion." He sounded almost proud of it.

 

"Not the sorta kid to worry about making friends, either, huh?"

 

The smile on Erwin's face was far too warm.

 

"So…" Levi clicked his tongue. "Hange _forced_ you into being her friend, then?"

 

A warmer chuckle laced with fondness came then, and the admission of, "You could say that."

 

When Levi fell silent again, finally shelving the book in his hands, Erwin asked, "What about you and Armin? You've obviously known each other for some time."

 

"It's complicated."

 

Though Levi's words were clipped, Erwin found himself prompting, "Oh?" He didn't fail to notice the way the alchemist tensed beneath him. "How so?"

 

"Don't pry." There was something sharp in Levi's eyes now, cutting bone-deep. The sudden change in his expression was so seamless that Erwin found it a bit too...mechanical. Jarring, to say the least.

 

When Erwin opened his mouth to object, though, Armin cut in.

 

"Levi and I grew up together, too."

 

"Armin!"

 

It was a hissed warning, but the little blonde just gave a soft shrug, "They don't trust me, Levi, and keeping things from them is only going to make things worse."

 

For the barest moment, Levi looked ready to argue.

 

A _clink_ at Armin's side wiped that aggravated look away, leaving only rolling eyes and a softly growled, "Hange..."

 

"I'll clean it up!" Her smile was too wide, and neither Levi nor Erwin failed to notice when she threw a cheeky little wink down to Armin, who looked even more confused than the other men in the room. "No worries!"

 

Another roll of silvery eyes came then, and Levi returned to his work, though he paused the instant he began. Carefully cradling a book with a title composed of runes, he removed a bookmark from one of its central pages.

 

The bookmark itself was of more interest than the book, and Erwin furrowed his brow, asking, "What is that?"

 

It was a thin piece of paper, something like vellum, nearly transparent, runes scribbled along the edges in glittering golden ink. It was cut into the vague shape of a man, about the size of Erwin's hand, a large hole cut into the head, where a red string was woven through, as if it was meant to be hung.

 

"It's a protection charm."

 

"Leave it in there, please," Armin added, barely glancing up from his work.

 

Without a second's hesitation, Levi did as he was asked, slipping the delicate charm back into the book and slotting it among the others on the shelf.

 

At the front counter, Hange scrubbed vigorously at the ink she'd spilled before it could stain. Most of the shop was composed of porous sandstone, but luckily, the counter itself was marble. As expensive as such a thing must have been, Hange understood the necessity of it: A smooth surface was much easier for writing receipts and measuring powders on. It was also somewhat impermeable, and resisted staining, for which Hange was exceedingly grateful. She sighed in relief when the blue of the ink lifted from the ivory of the marble.

 

Armin watched her work for a moment, carefully moving their shared sketches away from the remaining spillage, mindful of the blue splotch at the edge of one design.

 

He started a bit when Hange said softly to him, "Disaster averted, huh?"

 

"Why did you do that, Hange?" With Levi sufficiently distracted with Erwin's chest against his back, Armin leaned just slightly closer to Hange, softly asking, "Why would you--"

 

"What, spill the ink?" Hange's eyes were bright, glinting behind the lenses of her goggles. "I'm a klutz; It happens all the time!"

 

"That wasn't all you did."

 

For an instant, Hange paused, mopping up the ink left behind from the drying off of their sketch. Then, quietly, she glanced up through her bangs and, with a quirk of her lips, asked, "Am I so obvious?"

 

"A bit."

 

"I think I trust you." Hange nodded to herself, then looked up to snag Armin's eyes head-on. "You remind me a li'l of Erwin when he was younger. You’re both, ah, how do you say it? Intelligent. Hmm. Cunning, might be a better word."

 

Armin's eyes wandered over to where Erwin stood with Levi, for just a moment meeting a pair of eyes as blue as his own. His brows knitted in consideration because he knew nothing of this man. He couldn’t decide if it was meant as praise or insult.  "You would trust me just because I remind you of him?"

 

"It's not just that." Finally succeeding in cleaning up the spilt ink, Hange tucked the cleaning supplies she'd used back under the counter to join Levi's vast collection of their like. "You're not as good an actor as you think you are."

 

To that, Armin said nothing.

 

"This tough-guy act you're putting on..." Hange caught his eyes again and he flicked his gaze away instantly. "The way you imitate Levi, I mean." She shrugged, an apologetic grin on her face. "It's kinda transparent."

 

Still, Armin was silent.

 

Hange suddenly looked a little awkward, teasingly asking, "Did I offend you?"

 

"Hush."

 

"Oh, snippy!" Hange's laughter echoed against the stone walls of the shop. "Didn't know you were so--"

 

" _Shut up_!"

 

Levi's growl wiped the smile from Hange's face. Even Erwin held a hand out to quiet them down as he stared up at a spot on the ceiling.

 

An eerie silence rung in the Underground, spreading like darkness in the cavern. Even the crowds right outside have stopped, tensely staring up at the ceiling of the cave.

 

The _thud-thud_ sound was coming from the Surface, rumbling down through the earth itself, settling deep beneath the Underground. Its deep waves echoed in the cavern and the walls shook at every resounding thud. Levi could see the dust crumbling from the Underground ceiling, no doubt leaving trails of tiny debris in the front of his shop. Then the rumbling started again, louder and they could all feel the small tremors and aftershocks of it. The adults outside ushered their children indoors—a couple of them making their way into Levi’s shop—while some cowered in time with the uneven quake of the earth.

 

It was terrifyingly, undeniably _footsteps_.

 

They were getting closer and closer until it thuds right above the shop then moves slowly across the ceiling, the sound penetrating deeper and deeper, echoing louder. All eyes watched the roof of the cave, both inside the shop and outside it. Despite the now thundering noise, Erwin heard the distinct sound of masses of people taking a deep breath and holding it. It felt like the first attack all over again.

 

And then, it stopped.

 

The silence was ten times as loud, the dripping of water from pipes and the hiss of steam blocking out all the sound in the world.

 

A deafening crash followed and it rocked the walls, echoing, thunderous in the steaming shadows. One of the room's myriad lanterns flickered out, and Armin tensed, asking, his voice barely a whisper, "What was that?"

 

Without answering, Levi was the first out of the shop, Erwin following close at his heels. "Stay here," Levi called to Hange and Armin, though she seemed hesitant to obey. It was only Armin's cautious hand on her shoulder that kept her grounded. To Erwin, he gave a rough, "C'mon."

 

Erwin followed, stepping out the door and into the chaos of the tunnels with an all too familiar sense of dread in his gut. He walked close to Levi with clenched fists. They were not prepared for this.

 

A small crowd had gathered around the commotion though as the steam and sandy dust dispersed the watchers seemed to be doing the same, and the scene finally came into view. The murmurs have gone from hushed to tense. Levi heard a few people exclaim and head back to their homes and shops.

 

The sandstone had cracked the wall opposite the shop, and off to the right, where the mechanisms that controlled the Surface's power were built, many of numerous copper pipes had ruptured, sending jets of steam and oil out into the darkness. The lights of the shops and windows nearby were too faint to penetrate the steam but from the distance, Erwin and Levi could feel the heat of whatever was hiding from their view. Something hotter and larger than the burst steam pipes.

 

When Levi moved to step closer, Erwin clasped a hand around his wrist. He jumped at the contact but Erwin’s hold is firm. The look he gave the taller man could cut diamonds, but Erwin merely gave him a resolute look in return, shaking his head in warning.

 

"Through the steam," Erwin was suddenly saying, his voice low, cautious, "can you see it?"

 

Squinting into the fog, Levi’s insides dropped. Erwin finally let his wrist go as he straightened up  slowly with wide eyes.

 

There, in the billows of steam, the wall of the cave broken down around it, was a Titan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm really sorry if this chapter isn't exactly up to snuff. I've been rather ill lately, and yeah :P
> 
> Excited for the next chapter? Have constructive criticism or even just silly comments to add? Let me know! And as always, I must mention that I go by SandCastleVirtues on Tumblr, and I'm totally open to taking questions and comments there! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We can't risk them attacking us. Not down here; They'd destroy everything. They'd shake our whole world apart."

The steam seemed to have a mind of its own, enveloping and steadfastly refusing to leave the colossal mech alone. It acted almost as a cocoon, hissing from the twisted pipes and the broken gratings, encasing the Titan's form in its foggy clutches. Fresh steam erupted when the water clinging to the jutting rocks above dripped onto its metal skin, sizzling and hissing.

 

Erwin approached the sweltering mist first, though Levi quickly pulled him back with a softly hissed, "Don't!"

 

Although it was the hand firmly planted on his chest that stopped Erwin.

 

"We don't know who's inside it," Levi said, his eyes searching the fog and coming away with no more information than he'd had before. His thin brows knitted together in frustration. "We can't risk them attacking us. Not down here; They'd destroy everything. They'd shake our whole world apart."

 

 _Our_ world. Not _my_ world; _Our world_. Something in Erwin brightened at the thought of sharing Levi's world, though he shoved it aside. Now was not the time to entertain unexpected and strange ideas. "If it's one of Armin's rogues," Erwin said, soft but insistent. "It wouldn't have a pilot at all."

 

That, at least, seemed to give Levi pause, though he stooped to draw the dagger from his boot nonetheless. The handle was carved from bone of some sort. Pale ivory and smooth. Erwin didn't want to think of what, or whom, that bone had belonged to.

 

To Erwin, his voice barely above a breath, Levi said, "Stay behind me." Gently, he pushed Erwin back, behind him, behind the bone-handled blade. Then Levi stood, announcing to the steam-shrouded Titan, "Come out with your hands where I can see 'em, and I won't hurt you."

 

Erwin got the feeling that was only a half-truth. Strangely enough, there was an odd sort of comfort in that.

 

No response came to the command, though, and Levi rolled his eyes in irritation before he barked, " _Come out_!"

 

There was a cough, the sound of the Titan's cockpit door materializing away, the shimmering blue light of the transmutation doing little to lessen the mist. Then came a light _thud_ , like someone had fallen from atop the mech to crouch against the ground. The sound echoed, though it didn't disguise the sound of the second, heavier _thud_.

 

This Titan had not one pilot, but two.

 

"Hands up!" Levi's voice echoed against the sandstone walls, and the bolts of rock hanging from the ceiling shuddered.

 

The crowd that had gathered around the Titan and its blanket of steam took a few collective steps back, weary, giving the little shopkeeper some space. They most likely knew his wrath all too well, Erwin thought. It wouldn't have come as a surprise.

 

"Keep 'em where I can see 'em!"

 

Hands held high in the air, a girl appeared from the fog, a boy stumbling along at her side.

 

They were the same height, both no older than fifteen it looked like, but those appeared to be the only similarities they shared.

 

The girl was ivory-pale, her hair the color of polished onyx, hanging pin-straight to her shoulders and tucked into a red scarf wound about her neck. Her dark, pretty eyes were tilted a bit, thin brows furrowed above them in what appeared to be a mixture of anxiety and annoyance.

 

Standing behind her, looking markedly frustrated, was the boy. He was nearly her opposite, all caramel skin and wild hair and brilliant eyes of a color Erwin couldn't bring himself to name. He was clutching at his left shoulder, which appeared to be a bit swollen.

 

That seemed to be the only injury on either of them, at least. Both looked disheveled, clothed askew with splotches of dirt on their alert faces. Despite their less-than-gossamer landing, Erwin thinks that they had been lucky. So far. With Levi clutching the bone blade with apparent ferocity, he wasn’t sure how long their luck would last.

 

There was a wildness to them and Erwin was certain if that wildness can be trusted. The Titan continued to steam behind them, only adding to his growing sense of wariness of these two newcomers.

 

When the girl spoke, her words coming in a rough, growling language, it did nothing to help their case. She gestured at the boy, then at their shared Titan, and then at the tunnel said Titan was wedged into, but not a single word of her strange announcement was understood, and she sighed.

 

Her frustration, at least, did not need a translation.

 

Though he would never even consider admitting to it, Erwin was a bit disappointed when Levi's hand fell away from his chest. It took all he had not to chase that touch, though Levi's words quickly distracted him.

 

"They're harmless," was his final analysis of the strange children.

 

His brow furrowing in concern, Erwin asked, "How do you know?"

He was a bit disturbed to find his gaze stuck on the new arrivals. He couldn't risk looking away from them especially after Levi’ tucked his blade back into his boot. Not if it meant getting himself hurt. Not if it meant getting _Levi_ hurt. The second option seemed far worse, for reasons that Erwin had no intention of addressing. They cannot afford any injuries with their mission at hand, he tells himself simply.

 

"She said they escaped from..." Levi pursed his lips, searching for words. "Someplace _bad_. A _converting-place_ is the literal translation, I think. A _changing_ place. They were trying to _alter_ her somehow, but I'm not really sure what she means by that."

 

Across the way, despite Levi's lack of full comprehension, the girl seemed to relax a bit.

 

"You can understand them?" Erwin asked.

 

"A bit." Levi took a few steps forward, refusing to meet Erwin's eyes.

 

There was something off in his voice, in his eyes, and Erwin made a mental to ask what was going on once he got the chance. There was something he wasn't sharing, something important. Of course, that was nothing new. Levi was always hiding something and it could be important to their mission. But there were matters more important at hand.

 

To the strange pair, Levi spoke slowly, deliberately, asking, "Do you speak the common tongue?"

 

The boy shook his head at that, but the girl took a deep breath before speaking. "Little." Her diction was awkward, the sounds coming hard and stunted.

 

Jerking his chin toward the shop, where Hange's face was eagerly pressed to the glass of the front window, Levi said, "C'mon inside. We need to make sure his shoulder's not hurt too bad."

 

There was a pause as the girl translated for her copilot, and he smiled.

 

He was the one to speak next, his words less gravelly than hers, but it was the laughter in his voice that caught Erwin and Levi off guard, soft and warm and far too bright for such a dark place as the Underground.

 

Giving a puzzled little smile of his own, Erwin asked, "What's he laughing about?"

 

Shaking her head, looking rather embarrassed, the girl said, "The woman in the window. He says she looks like a… A lapdog." At her side, the boy pushed up the tip of his nose and wrinkled his brow, kindly demonstrating the breed they were referring to. "The ones with the flat noses and crumply faces."

 

Barely containing a soft chuckle, Erwin asked, "Pugs, you mean? Little beige dogs with black noses?"

 

"And tails like pigs," the girl agreed, and the boy made a twirling gesture with his fingers. Despite Erwin's reassuring smile, she was still wary of them, arms crossed, eyeing the shop's front window.

 

Erwin's smile fell a bit at that. "You don't think she's funny, though, do you? The woman in the window." There was something like genuine concern in his voice. Titan pilots or not, these strangers were _children_ , and children needed to be protected. Perhaps he had been quick to distrust them earlier. Careful not to offend the girl, he asked, "Does she frighten you?"

 

She tipped her head at that, asking, " _Frighten_?"

 

"Are you scared of her?" Levi chipped in. He, too, had his arms folded over his chest.

 

Defensive posturing, Erwin noted. Or perhaps Levi was imitating the girl with the way he seemed to have been watching her. Almost as if he was examining her. Erwin that to be strange. Perhaps he was just as nervous about this exchange as their guests were. With age, though, came the ability to conceal his anxiety, and for that, he was grateful.

 

"Not scared. Just..." The girl shrugged narrow shoulders. "She's strange."

 

"Very much so," Erwin agreed, a smile playing at his lips. "But she's a friend, I promise you. You've no reason to fear her."

 

"No reason at all, I promise!"

And there was Hange, her smile as dazzling as the boy's had been, and she soon had her hands around his, carefully avoiding the girl. She sensed her anxiety, it seemed. "Why, hello there! Is that Titan yours?" When the boy gave her an awkward shrug, her brow furrowed, and she asked, "Don't you speak the common tongue?"

 

"He does not.”

 

Hange's eyes fell on the girl then, and she straightened then pulled closer to the girl, asking, "But _you_ do?"

 

Hesitant, the girl nodded as she inched away from Hange.

 

"Oh." One hand lifted in a wave. "I'm Hange! Nice to meet you!"

 

"Hange?" the boy asked, one thick brow lifted. He tugged at the red scarf draped around the girl's neck, chattering for a moment before he jerked his chin in Hange's direction. He was asking for an introduction, it seemed.

 

The girl tossed a glance at Erwin then, and after an affirming nod, she confessed, "I am Mikasa." Gesturing at the boy, she added, "He is Eren."

 

Even their names were in a strange language, the consonants somehow rolled and stuttered at the same time, and Hange's smile widened.

"Where are you from?" she asked next. Her eyes were bright behind her goggles, jumping from Eren to Mikasa and back again. "Where'd you get that Titan?" Her eyes were on it then. "Does it really take both of you to pilot it? It's an older model, isn't it? Oh, but it's in such good condition! It's never seen combat before, has it? Do you know how--"

 

"Enough questions, Hange."

 

Mikasa’s shoulders visibly relaxed at Levi's intervention, though Eren looked a bit disappointed. His smile returned when Hange gingerly draped an arm over his good shoulder and announced, "This way, little babies! C'mon inside! Gotta lookit…" She met the boy's eyes. "It's Eren, yes?"

 

Eren nodded.

 

Mikasa didn’t move from her spot even though Eren was already following Hange’s lead. Erwin noticed her eyes darting back to their Titan and the crowd that gathered closer to it, inspecting it with curious eyes and awed whispers.

“They won’t touch it,” Levi said. Erwin turned to him and caught the silver glint in his expression. Sharp and threatening towards the girl. “And neither will you.”

Mikasa stared at him, measuring the risk of his order, both at a quiet standstill. She nodded after a long moment.

"We gotta lookit Eren's arm!" Hange eventually continued. "Pretty sure his shoulder's just dislocated, but you can't be too careful about these things!"

 

Though Levi rolled his eyes at Hange's dramatics, he and Erwin followed without argument as she headed into the shop, Eren at her side and Mikasa close at Eren’s heels.

 

"This is the shop!" Hange announced once they were inside, gesturing grandly. A few things had been toppled from the quake, but it seemed to be mostly intact. None of the jars filled with beetles had broken, at least. "It's in kinda rough shape from you guys' drop in, but it's usually really neat!"

 

Naturally, Levi set to straightening the little space as soon as he was inside, pressing one of his many brooms into Erwin's hands.

 

"It belongs to Levi," Hange said. "But Erwin and I work here, sorta."

 

"Levi?" Eren asked. He was still clutching at his shoulder, his left arm hanging limp at his side. " _Er_..." He cleared his throat before he attempted the name again. " _Erwin_?"

 

"Oh, duh!" Hange's laughter bounced off the walls of the suddenly empty shop. The patrons had all headed out to observe the Titan caught in the tunnel system, it seemed. Even Armin had vanished. "Levi is the little one. The blonde is Erwin. They're good people."

 

Mikasa seemed to understand, giving a nod to each man in turn, though Eren still looked a little lost regarding who was who.

 

Hange seemed to understand, and she turned Eren toward the other men in the room. Pointing in turn, she said, "This is Levi, and that is Erwin."

 

"Levi," Eren agreed, the knitting of his eyebrows easing. "Erwin."

 

"He has trouble with your name," Hange said to Erwin, one hand lifting to ruffle Eren's hair. When he lightly batted her hand away with his good arm, she laughed. She turned to Mikasa next, and she asked, "Why is that?"

 

"Our language is..." Mikasa paused, gnawing at her lower lip, arms crossed over her chest again. "Rough. The _rrr_ sounds wants to... _To be noticed_. It stands out." In the wake of Erwin's responding smile, she gave a little one of her own. "Erwin." She had considerably less trouble with it.

 

"Very good," Erwin replied. His smile soon faded, and he spared a glance around the shop. "Where did Armin get to?"

 

" _Armin_?" There was a spark in Eren's eyes when he repeated that name.

 

"I think he's in the office," Hange said, releasing Eren at long last in favor of trekking to the back room, shoving a fallen stack of books against the wall as she went. "He said something about feeling safer back here than near the window..."

There was a pause, a murmuring of voices, and then Hange was pulling a distinctly unwilling Armin out of the office, smiling brightly and announcing, "Found him!"

 

At the sight of him, Eren's eyes went wide, and Mikasa gave a wide smile, her arms unfolded immediately.

 

Eren's chatter was indecipherable, that was no surprise, but the way he tossed his good arm around the other boy's shoulders was unexpected to say the least. More so was the way he pulled Armin into his chest, and the way the blonde didn't so much as try to escape. 

 

Of all the strange words flying past Eren's lips, Erwin the soft, warm, barely whispered utterance of Armin’s name from both the newcomers. He turns to Levi, ready with his concern at this apparent familiarity only to find him with eyes narrowed at the exchange.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terribly sorry about the long wait, guys. The cell tower that provides my wifi collapsed in a storm :P It shouldn't be more than a week before it's back up, though!
> 
> Anyway, so enter Eren and Mikasa. I always have trouble with these two :P If they seem off, lemme know, and I'll do what I can to fix it, yeah?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's a bit far-fetched," Erwin said, his mood lightened a bit now that he was finally getting at the information he needed, "but I suppose it's a possibility."
> 
> The whole situation was far-fetched, to be honest. The capital had been very nearly leveled, Erwin was trapped underground with a group of alchemists, their guests barely spoke the common tongue, and one of them was currently making a sound that seemed to be a meow in a foreign language.

The chalk was noisier than the kid was, screeching and scratching as it went.

 

Levi rolled his eyes, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the cool stone wall of his shop, watching wordlessly as Eren drew pictures on a large slab of slate.

 

The kid was currently seated on the cashier's counter, legs crossed beneath him, brow furrowed as his chalk-coated hands worked. He'd been going at this for hours now, doing his best to teach his students all he could of the Titan language, doing his best to absorb whatever he could in the Common Tongue. When the most recent of his many drawings was complete, he turned the slate out to where Erwin, Hange and Armin were seated on one of the shops better-made tables.

 

The drawing was formed of a pair of parallel lines running up to what appeared to be a ball of fluff.

 

When no one gave a response to it, Eren pouted, turning the slate back toward him and scratching at the slate some more.

 

Giving a sound akin to "ta-da!," he turned the slab back out again. He'd added a bird to the ball of fluff, and after tipping his head to one side to see it better, Levi came to the realization that the peculiar little drawing was meant to be a tree.

 

"This would be a lot easier," Hange suddenly whispered, leaning onto Erwin's shoulder, "if the kid was a good artist."

 

When Erwin gently elbowed her, though, she snorted out a laugh, smiling and straightening.

 

At her other side, Armin fought back a smile.

 

It was strange, Levi decided, seeing them all together like this. They were so at ease.

 

Even Mikasa had begun to relax a bit, sitting behind the counter, her eyes on Eren. Every so often, she would even translate bits of her companion's ramblings, much to Hange's delight. A few times, she even went so far as to explain what it was Eren was attempting to draw.

 

The kid was a shit artist, though his enthusiasm was undimmed despite it, and Levi found a bizarre warmth forming in him over that. He was a good kid, Levi was sure, whether he spoke in Titan-speak or not.

 

Erwin, on the other hand, seemed far less willing to trust these strangers. The furrow of his brow, the set of his jaw, the thinness of his mouth... He hid it far better than the others, but he was tense, just the slightest bit. For a moment, Levi found himself wondering if Erwin was the smartest of their little group, the only one wise enough to keep his reservations despite the fact that their newcomers were still only teenagers.

 

His voice a conspirator's whisper, Levi leaned in ever so slightly to ask, "You don't trust 'em?" It wasn't a question, really.

 

"Of course I don't." Erwin's eyes remained on Eren, though he turned his head toward Levi as he spoke. "We don't know anything about them."

 

"We know they're from Shiganshina." Those lovely eyes found Levi's at last, and he shivered, though it wasn't altogether unpleasant to have those sapphire-ice eyes on him.

 

"They said that?" Erwin's scowl, though, had an almost dangerous edge to it. It shouldn't have been as attractive as it was, and it took all Levi had to focus on the other man's next words: "But Shiganshina doesn't exist."

 

"And yet that's where they came from," was all the argument Levi gave.

 

"If the Alchemists' Haven was a real place," Erwin said, his voice gone cold, "word would have gotten around."

 

"It _is_ real, though," Hange countered, leaning around Erwin's shoulder and into the conversation. Behind her goggles, her chocolaty eyes were glinting mischievously. "I've seen it."

 

A sigh passed Erwin's lips at that, eyes rolling in irritation. "Hange, you can't have seen a place that doesn't exist."

 

"You're not an alchemist, Erwin." Hange's argument was a sound one, surprisingly. "In fact, you're blatantly _anti_ -alchemy. Why would we tell your sort it was real?" Again, a fair point. "We'd be blowing our own cover!"

 

"Even if it--"

 

"Even if it _isn't_ real," Levi suddenly cut in, words clipped, eyes sharp, "that's where these kids _say_ they're from."

 

"How could you possibly know that?" It almost sounded like a demand. Coming from a man like Erwin, it probably was. Soldiers were always making demands.

 

"They said so."

 

And then those eyes were wide, and Erwin was asking, " _You can understand them_?"

 

Shrugging, Levi admitted a bit reluctantly, "A little."

 

"With the way they were pointing..." Those brilliant eyes fell on Armin, who was smiling to himself as Eren drew what appeared to be an apple on the slate slab. "Armin is from the same place they are. They knew him the second they saw him."

 

"What's it matter where he's from?" Hange was the one to ask, leaning around Erwin's side again to dart her gaze between him and Levi, wide and inquisitive. "They're here _now_. Isn't that all that counts?"

 

Neither man offered a response, merely meeting each other's eyes.

 

Hange seemed to take that as a victory, and she turned her smug gaze to Eren and Mikasa, saying, "What I wanna know is if you two know where the Titans are from."

 

Eren seemed to recognize the word _Titan_ , at the very least, and he froze, his eyes turning to his companion, wide and worried.

 

Clearly hesitant, Mikasa said, very softly, "They are from Shiganshina, as well."

 

"See!" Hange stole a glance at Levi and Erwin. "They're all from the same place! They're _all from Shiganshina_!" Hange seemed delighted by the idea, smiling brightly and clapping her hands as she returned her attention to Mikasa. "Can you tell me--"

 

"We do not _come from_ Shiganshina."

 

"Oh?" Hange's brow furrowed at that. "But didn't you just say...?"

 

Mikasa looked troubled for an instant, looking to Eren for support, though he was more lost than she was. She turned her gaze to Armin instead. "We _came_ from Shiganshina," she said, slowly, deliberately, "but we do not _come from_ Shiganshina."

 

"They were on the way from Shiganshina, from what I can tell," Armin kicked in. When Eren muttered something, his eyes darkening, Armin added, "They're from a different area of the city. The place they came from is a..." He sighed. "I'm a little rusty. I haven't spoken this language in years."

 

"It's a _changing-place_." It was Levi. "A _converting place_." He met Erwin's eyes. "Some kinda church, maybe?"

 

"I don't think so." Armin rubbed at the back of his neck, running one hand through his hair. "It's a bad place. And they keep mentioning a _her_." His eyes were going shifty, and Erwin felt his jaw tense. What reason did he have to lie? He was hiding something, at the very least. "That's all I can make out."

 

"Oh!"

 

Armin, Mikasa and Eren all jumped in the wake of Hange's exclamation.

 

"You were coming from there," Hange said, "but you weren't born there, yes?"

 

"I thought you were s'posta be a genius?" came Levi's exasperated voice. "We already established that much."

 

Mikasa looked more exasperated than he did, and, softly, she asked, "What is _born_?"

 

When she looked to Armin for a translation, he shook his head, saying softly, "You wouldn't understand."

 

Tension soon settled over the room again, Eren sitting quietly on the counter, the slate tucked into his lap for safekeeping as his eyes darted between Mikasa and Armin. Occasionally, those eyes found Erwin, too, as if the kid was searching for something. Was he distrustful, too?

 

Naturally, Hange was the one to break the tension, asking, "So _did_ the Titans come from Shiganshina?"

 

Deadpan, Mikasa replied, "Titans are everywhere."

 

"Well, I know _that_!" Oddly enough, Hange actually seemed amused, and her lightened mood was contagious. Armin and Eren relaxed a bit in the wake of it, though Mikasa remained as grim as ever. "I mean, is that where the ones that were _tampered with_ came from?"

 

Tossing a worried glance over at Armin, Mikasa shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know," was her answer, though there was something shifty in her eyes, the same as Armin's. She was lying, too, though whether she knew the origins of the Titans or not seemed to be a question for another day. She didn't trust Erwin and Levi and Hange any more than they trusted her, it seemed.

 

At her side, Eren cleared his throat, tapping the chalk's tip against the slate, drawing the room's attention to the drawing he'd done as Mikasa and Armin and Hange had talked. It was a large house, though it seemed to be tucked into a wall somehow.

 

They said the Alchemists' Haven was built into the wall of a canyon. Strange. Erwin tossed that though aside, asking, "Is that the changing place?"

 

Eren nodded rapidly at that, a little smile growing across his face. He quickly wiped away the house, drawing a girl instead, her hair long, her eyes large, her lashes thick and dark. She was lovely for a stick figure.

 

"Was she held captive with you?" Erwin asked next.

 

Eren gave a fierce shake of his head at that, purring something in his strange engine-roar language, though Armin stopped him with a shake of his own head. Eren didn't take well to that, glaring with sea-glass eyes, and giving what had to be an argument.

 

Armin's version of the language was softer than Eren's, less mechanical than Mikasa's.

 

And then she was in on the conversation, too, a hand on Eren's shoulder, tossing occasional glances over at Erwin and Hange.

 

"Enough." It was Levi's voice, an irritated little scowl on his face.

 

Though Armin and Mikasa looked abashed, Eren's glare only sharpened, and he snarled something that sounded like a series of insults.

 

Of course, in that bizarre, growling language, everything sounded like an insult. Eren could easily have been talking about butterflies, and it would still have sounded like an absolute atrocity. Levi seemed unfazed by it either way.

 

"No one understands you when you start getting worked up, Eren."

 

A blink, and Eren was suddenly looking rather embarrassed, too. Nodding, his cheeks flushed, he swiped a hand over the drawing of the mystery girl and begin a new picture.

 

"What were they saying?" Erwin asked once the children had settled. "Eren seemed rather upset about it. Why did you stop him?"

 

"Eren's an emotional kid." It was true, as far as they had seen. "He gets upset about everything."

 

Now Erwin was the one glaring. "Don't avoid the question."

 

Levi's eyes rolled at that, though he answered nonetheless: "I stopped him because that language is dangerous to speak aloud."

 

That answer seemed to bother Erwin, and he asked, "Dangerous _how_?"

 

"The words themselves are beacons."

 

" _Beacons_?"

 

"Do you have to repeat everything I say?" The words came on an agitated hiss. " _The words are beacons_."

 

This time, at least, Erwin remained silent, though his irritation was obvious.

 

"The Titans speak that language," Levi said, glancing over to catch Erwin's eyes with his own, and strangely enough, the blonde seemed to relax in the wake of them. "It's how older models are controlled, and I'd bet if the unmanned ones catch wind of someone speaking it, they can use it to track you down."

 

"It's a bit far-fetched," Erwin said, his mood lightened a bit now that he was finally getting at the information he needed, "but I suppose it's a possibility."

 

The whole situation was far-fetched, to be honest. The capital had been very nearly levelled, Erwin was trapped underground with a group of alchemists, their guests barely spoke the common tongue, and one of them was currently making a sound that seemed to be a _meow_ in a foreign language.

 

"It's not safe for him to keep talking," Levi suddenly said, pointedly refusing to hold Erwin's gaze any longer. There was the faintest hint of blush tinting his cheeks, a slight hitching in his speech. This was a distraction maneuver. "We should prob'ly get the kid to shut up."

 

Erwin's gaze soon left Levi's face in favor of seeking out Eren, and he gave a reluctant smile, watching as the boy used his hands to form ears and gave another soft _meow_ , indicating the blobby cat he'd drawn on the slate in his lap. Chuckling, Erwin said, "Good luck with that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay, guys. I'll try to update more frequently, yeah?

**Author's Note:**

> Just so you dudes know, the concept for this fic actually came from TwistedK, and I've gotten a great deal of help on the plot and just aaahhh (Thanks so much, darling! <3). I'm really looking forward to seeing this fic take off. 
> 
> Excited for the next chapter? Have constructive criticism or even just silly comments to add? Let me know! And as always, I must mention that I go by SandCastleVirtues on Tumblr, and I'm totally open to taking questions and comments there! :)


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